Treasury targets home battery rebates as costs blow out
Home battery rebate scheme costs have tripled from Treasury's original $2.3 billion estimate.
Jim Chalmers is under pressure to cut green energy subsidies to fight inflation. The home battery rebate scheme lets households get 30 per cent cashback since July 2025.
The scheme was forecast to cost $2.3 billion but is now estimated at $7.2 billion, only after a policy tweak. The electric vehicle fringe benefits tax break is also at risk.
Economists question why green subsidies face cuts while the federal fuel tax credit for mining companies, worth about $11 billion a year, stays untouched. Treasury badly underestimated how much households want batteries when the scheme began.
This shows poor cost forecasting.
- 30 per cent
- Rebate percentage
- $2.3 billion
- Original cost estimate
- over $7.2 billion
- Current cost estimate
- $31 billion over four years
- Taylor's proposed cuts
Why it mattersCutting support could slow Australia's transition to renewable energy and damage the emerging solar battery industry just as it reaches commercial scale.
AustraliaAustralians considering home batteries or leasing electric vehicles could lose financial incentives, affecting household renewable energy adoption and climate goals.
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